


Closing Time

by offwhxte



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe - Library, Fluff, Librarian Assistant Hotch, Library Enthusiast Spencer, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-23 18:07:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10724487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/offwhxte/pseuds/offwhxte
Summary: Is the library haunted, or is the security around here just that bad?





	Closing Time

Closing time. Hotch glanced at the clock and flickered the lights on and off, the final signal that everyone was to head for the exit. A few seconds passed with no movement or crying babies. Good sign. He grabbed his backpack and ID card from his place behind the kiosk, locking the half-door behind him (which seemed pretty useless to him, as a small child could easily pole-vault over and steal however many pencil erasers and stale lollipops they wanted). He was at the door, his jacket half-on-half-off, when he flicked off the light. 

He turned to go outside, closing the door behind him when he looked up to see that the light was back on. Hotch's eyebrows narrowed and he walked back inside, flipping it off. He waited by the door suspiciously for a long time, calling out for someone to show themselves, looking for any books to start throwing themselves off the shelves so that he could run for his life. But everything was silent, save for his own heavy breathing and the AC system that wheezed somewhere off in the distance.  

Hotch repeated this process three times; he consciously turned off the light, looked around, left the building, turned back around, and saw the light on again. He was beginning to get upset. Whatever ghost was haunting the library was so annoying.  

Once more, he entered and flicked the light off. Suddenly, _light bulb._ Hotch was going to pretend to leave by closing the door and being really still, and maybe the ghost would come sauntering down the aisles to turn it back on. Hotch wasn't sure if he actually wanted to see the ghost, but he definitely didn't want to go home and think himself crazy. 

He slammed the door closed and pressed himself against the wall, his dark clothing somewhat blending him in. His wide eyes scanned the room for poltergeists or paranormal activity.  

What he didn't expect, was to see a human guy appear from behind one of the bookshelves in the back. 

He had chin-length hair, slicked back, glasses on his nose, a lollipop sticking out of his mouth, and a book shoved in his face as he mindlessly maneuvered around the couches and book trolleys without so much as a glance up. Suddenly, Hotch let himself relax. The kid wouldn't see him, he wasn't even looking up.  

The light flickered on without so much as a blink, and the kid got halfway back across the room before he stopped in his tracks. He spun around on his heel and looked at Hotch for a long moment, his lollipop hanging out of the side of his mouth before he lifted a hand and took it out, "Hi?" 

"Hi," Hotch waved shyly and gestured to himself. "I work here." 

"Oh," he nodded and put his lollipop back in his mouth, "Cool." 

Then he turned and walked back to his hiding spot among the bookshelves. Hotch, speechless, followed him.  

There, he found a half-finished fortress of the thickest books in the selection that spanned across three different bookshelves, making arches and fancy columns. The kid must have been an architectural sciences student. Or maybe he just read a lot. He glanced around, looking for some kind of a sign that he was dreaming. He wasn't.  

"You can try throwing me out," a voice came from the other side of the bookshelf Hotch was standing by. He reached in and made a window through the books and saw the smiling face on the other side. "It won't work." 

"I'm more focused on how I've never caught you here before." Hotch squinted at him, "What's your name?" 

"Reid," the man pulled the lollipop from his mouth with a pop. "You're not going to try to arrest me, right?" 

"For making something awesome out of books that you'll probably clean up before morning?" 

Reid nodded slowly, running one hand through his hair, "Fair point." 

"Hopefully you don't mind questions, because this is hard to wrap my mind around," Hotch said, looking to Reid, who smiled and hummed in response. "When did you start doing this?" 

"The night I sent my mom to the hospital, probably," he shrugged, but it was obviously a sore spot for him, as he arranged his glasses and placed the candy back into his mouth. "I've gotten a lot better at efficient set up and take down." 

"How do you do it without me noticing?" 

"You only leave your kiosk to help cute girls and go to the bathroom," he smirked. "Cute girls don't go into the biography section unless they're hiding from you." 

"I don't like girls." 

"Uh-huh," Reid smiled, "You don't, you're right. But you subconsciously like to help the more attractive people that go to libraries, and I haven't seen a cute boy in here since a few minutes ago." 

"What, did you look in a mirror?" Hotch couldn't help himself. The kid wasn't as socially awkward as he carried himself to look like. "Sorry." 

"S'fine." 

They stood in comfortable silence, looking at each other through the window of books before Reid spoke up.  

"Would you be Pyramus or Thisbe?" 

"Excuse me?" Hotch raised an eyebrow, "Is that a sex thing?" 

"It's a death thing, but if you're into that..." Reid ducked out of view and walked around the bookshelf, the short way. "Two cute people trapped on either side of a wall, families hate each other. They escape to get married, but chaos ensues. Pyramus dies first because he thinks Thisbe is dead, but she isn't, and then she kills herself in turn." 

"Like Romeo and Juliet?" 

"Romeo and Juliet is the knock off of Pyramus and Thisbe, but I'll admit, Shakespeare has his merits," Reid said, pulling a lollipop wrapper from his pocket and surrounding what was left of his candy with it before shoving it back in. "So, are you Pyramus or Thisbe?" 

"Are you asking me to act out some sorta suicide pact thing?" 

"I'm asking if you want to date, I think." Reid shrugged and leaned on one of the racks. "I may not know your name, but I know you're cute and nice, and you didn't run away screaming _ghost!_ like the other workers. That's awesome. I want to date you." 

"Oh," Hotch nodded and held out his hand. "I'm Hotch. Aaron. Whichever." 

"Well, Hotch." Reid stood upright and beamed. "Did you know it's statistically cleanlier to kiss rather than to shake hands?" 

"Really?" 

"I could tell you everything about germs, but I think I'd rather demonstrate." 

Hotch stayed late to work every night after that. 


End file.
